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Development and transformation of social structures

Civilization: Persian

Name: Taylor Walker





Theme
 How does this theme apply to your civilization?
Gender roles and relations
  • Women were not discriminated against.
  • Many women held prominent positions, such as priestesses.
Family and kinship
  • Family and clan relationships were very strong and important in the nomadic society, even after the creation of the Achaemenid empire.
  • The father lead the family, and a male warrior typically lead the clan.
  • Kinship was very important for political and social influence, especially after the creation of bureaucracy.
Racial and ethnic constructions
  • The Achaemenid empire was very diverse under Cyrus and Dariaus, with over seventy ethnic groups.
  • Cyrus and Dariaus went to great lengths to respect others cultural values and traditions.
  • Xerxes revoked the cultural tolerence policy at the end of the Achaemenid empire, causing rebellions.
Social and economic classes
  • Specialized labor lead to a great divide in economic classes. There were large differences between the rich and poor people of the region.
  • Educated bureaucrats and elite warriors were on top of the social classes and lived very luxurious lives.
  • The majority of the population was made up of the "Free Classes," which included everyone from priests/priestesses, artists, merchants, craftsman, and peasants.
  • "Free Classes" enjoyed freedoms and basic civil rights, but did not live very luxurious lives like the bureaucrats and warriors.
  • On the bottom were the slaves. A majority of slaves were made up of Prisoners of War (POWs) and political prisoner. Some of the "Free Classes" gave up their freedoms and became slaves after they could no longer support themselves.